The Order Meeting That Defines Us
by RandomPonyWriter
Summary: In a particularly boring Order meeting, Sirius practically shouts out that Tonks loves Remus, even though he doesn't know yet. Was a one-shot, but due to an awesomely overwhelming response, is now a story. NT/RL
1. Chapter 1

**This is a one-shot based on the first time Tonks admits that she likes Remus.**

**I can be convinced to turn it into a longer story if that is what you want : )**

**Reviews are my food. Feed me, I'm starving : P (And I'm also up for using the Cruciatus on any non-reviewers : )**

**What a boring set of authors notes. Now lets get to my badly written, awful story (inspired by a conversation that I had at work this morning that went a little like this)**

"Don't lie to me Nymphadora,"

Tonks looked frantically around the room of Order members all listening to Severus Snape rattle on about who-cares-what to check that no-one had heard the words Sirius had spoken.

"You're being ridiculous," she hissed at Sirius, glaring at him with a look that could make flowers wilt if they were unfortunate to be under such a gaze, "and DON'T call me Nymphadora."

Sirius snorted softly in amusement as Molly Weasley turned her head towards Tonks and himself, motioning for them to be quiet. He grinned at her and she turned disapprovingly back towards Snape. Satisfied that Molly was no longer hovering - but sure that she was still listening because she wanted to know who Tonks liked as much as he did - he turned to Tonks and smirked.

"I'm not being ridiculous, as you say," he whispered, ignoring the dirty looks Snape was directing his way, "I know that you like someone in the Order."

Tonks was terrified of someone hearing Sirius in the relative silence that was broken only by the lazy, drawling voice of Snape - enough to put even the attentive Hermione Granger to sleep. Looking around the table she was glad to see that so many people actually looked half-asleep, most likely a side-effect of having to listen to Snape drone on about his involvement in the Order, while he made slights about how much more he did than everyone else - about how he risked his life so much more than the others. _Yes, yes, We get it. You're a hero, shut up and get on with it._

"I don't!" she whispered back in a menacing hiss, "and I'd thank you to shut up about it." The truth was though, that she actually did like someone in the Order, only she didn't want Sirius to know that. Giving him the knowledge would be like throwing herself to the lions. _Insufferable Gryffindors, _she thought before recoiling in horror, _Oh God, I'm starting to sound like Snape._

Sirius raised an eyebrow at her, before covering his mouth with his hand and pretending to stifle a yawn, keeping an eye on Dumbledore out of the corner of his eye. He was watching the two of them with a rather amused look on his face, his beard twitching upwards occasionally as though he found humour in their conversation.

"We all know about it Nymphie," Sirius informed her, letting the words wash over her, "So you might as well admit it."

Tonks almost gasped in horror as she looked around the table to meet the eyes of Dumbledore, Molly, Kingsley and McGonagall. All of them showed their amusement in the confirmation of their suspicions in one way or another; Dumbledore and his twinkling eyes and twitching beard; McGonagall with her sharp, pointed stare; Molly with her motherly look as she offered a small smile before turning away; and Kingsley, a smirk on his face as he struggled not to laugh at the mortification in her features. Was she really _that_ transparent?

Tonks shrank back into her seat, glad for the first time ever that last night's full moon had made Remus much too tired to attend the meeting tonight. It was him that she liked and no doubt Sirius would tell his best friend anything she admitted, whether he was sworn to secrecy or not. However, it seemed silly to keep up the charade of not liking Remus now that so many people seemed to suspect that she liked an Order member, and by the looks of their pointed gazes, they all knew exactly who. Even Snape seemed to know; it was in the arrogant curl of his lips and the hard, black, glittering eyes. His every word was dripping with venom as he glared at Tonks and Sirius.

The thing was though, was that she was almost a hundred percent sure that Remus didn't like her the same way she liked him. Once or twice she had thought that she could see something different in his eyes when he looked at her, but decided it must be pity or something equally as unendearing. Surely he only saw her as young, naïve and annoying. He probably thought that her short, spiky pink hair, that was ever-changing in colour and style was childish and her taste in clothing annoying. He most likely could never be interested in her in a million years. He was much to good for her.

She wished there was another reason to account for the fact that he always kept her at an arms length; that he refused to let her in closer, even though she had told him that him being a werewolf didn't change anything in their friendship.

She'd actually thought that she'd managed to convey her feelings to him. She wanted no-one else, and while she had never told him, she'd have thought he'd pick it up in her actions - but then, Gryffindors always were about as subtle as a bludger. She had thought that she'd been discreet and subtle, but communicative. Apparently not.

Somehow though, he was different. She knew he could read her like a book; they'd spent far too many evenings in the Grimmauld place library just talking and reading books to not know how to read each other. They'd had too many conversations over cups of tea and hot chocolate; she'd broken way to many mugs and teacups for it not to have become personal. Yes, she could normally read him, but now she was at a loss to be able to tell if he liked her or not.

There were small things; sometimes he'd wait for her to come home before sleeping if she'd been out on a dangerous mission for the Order late at night; sometimes he'd make her tea in the mornings, always seeming to know just when she would trudge down the stairs and just how she liked her tea to be made; she could sometimes detect something softer and yet more intense in his features when he thought she didn't know he was looking at her; and sometimes he just let down the barriers and just laughed with her.

Then there was the fact that every single time she tripped over the damned trolls-leg umbrella stand in the front hall, he was somehow always there to help her back up. While he teased her about her clumsiness, he drew a line between teasing and insulting- a boundary that Sirius apparently knew absolutely nothing of.

"I admit nothing," she whispered, raising her chin in defiance, "and you cannot make me."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "I know who he is," he informed her smugly, "and I know he likes you too."

Her heart gave a leap at the thought that Remus might like her back, and Sirius, being his best friend was in the position to know whether he did or not. Then she pushed away the feelings because Sirius was known for winding people, especially her, up on purpose. He may have been put in to Gryffindor, but he had all the cunning of a Slytherin.

When she didn't reply to him he spoke again in a low voice, "Let's go through what you look for in a companion."

She rolled her eyes, and tilted her head towards Snape, trying to make it seem as though she was paying attention to him.

"You like a man who reads books…" Sirius whispered in her ear.

She didn't reply. _Focus on Snape, Focus on Snape, Focus on…_

"He's older than you…"

_That could be almost anyone in the damned Order. _She remained unmoved in her silence.

"He's kind… and caring…"

_That doesn't even begin to describe Remus_, she thought, distracting herself with a long poetic description of Remus in her head. Sirius was still talking but Tonks wasn't listening. Until…

"…and of course he has a phoenix named Fawkes and isn't afraid to get in touch with his feminine side…"

Sirius glanced towards Dumbledore and Tonks' eyes followed his gaze, only to have her eyes meet Dumbledore's, twinkling from behind half moon spectacles, the pink tie he was wearing today mashing terribly with his purple robes, dusted with silver sparkles.

Dumbledore grinned at her in amusement and she burst out laughing at once; a high-pitched, amused sound. Snape stopped talking, glaring in her direction.

"Apparently," he drawled, his voice hard and laced with malice, "some of us have nothing else to do with our time but to gossip and be immature."

Tonks rolled her eyes and kicked Sirius under the table as she felt him shift angrily in his seat.

"He's not worth it," Tonks said, "Oh, and it's not Dumbledore."

Sirius smirked, alternating between being amused and glaring at Snape, "I never thought that it was. Its-"

Tonks grimaced at him, "Shut up or I'll hex you Sirius," she said, cutting him off before he could blurt it out.

"-Moony." Sirius laughed, "We all know it's Moony."

There was the sound of a sigh from the doorway and Tonks looked in the direction of the door to see Remus standing there, leaning against the frame.

"What'd I do this time?" he asked, and as he did, Sirius smirked, nudging Tonks with his foot under the table earning him a well-deserved glare.

**So that's it. **

**It's a one-shot, my first one I think, but I can be persuaded to turn it into a full story, depending on reviews. I already have another Remus/Tonks story called 'The Greatest Love' but I can do both. This one in time would become more humorous and lighthearted and I might possibly turn it into a bunch of different scenes in order that I think would define Remus and Tonks' relationship. **

**You all let me know what you think first and then I'll see what I do with it! **

**Hope you like it.**

**In the name of Salazar Slytherin's smelliest, slimiest serpent please please review! **

**Reviews make me put pen to paper : P**


	2. Chapter 2

**Due to the overwhelming support for this turning into a full story, I have decided to keep it going. Those who liked it as a one-shot, feel free to pretend that only the first chapter exists. **

**To all of my readers who had enough faith in me to put this on their story alerts, I thank you profusely. I am so, so grateful for your support. **

**For those who favourited this, I love you too. It amazes me every single time I see an email alert saying that you guys have favourited this. **

**For my Reviewers! I LOVE YOU : D Thanks heaps. It means so much to me; it really, really does. Reviews are my favourite!**

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW : )**

"Apparently we were just discussing your love life Remus, or lack of," Snape said coldly.

"Oh, and you're one to talk-" Tonks said, outraged.

"Shut up Nymphadora and do not talk about things you do not understand!" Snape snarled, emphasizing every syllable of her hated first name.

Tonks glared at Snape and turned to Remus who was still leaning against the doorframe with one eyebrow raised, "We weren't really talking about your love life Remus," Tonks mumbled, dropping her eyes to the tablecloth, picking at it with her fingers, "At least, I wasn't."

Her eyes flickered to Sirius in annoyance. _Now look what he's done! _She glared daggers at him, furious when he grinned back at her, his eyes flickering from her to Remus.

Remus, at the door, raised his eyebrows. This definitely wasn't what he had expected when he walked into the order meeting. Everyone was acting strangely. Dumbledore was grinning from ear to ear, the twinkle in his eyes even more pronounced than it usually was. Molly Weasley was muttering to herself quietly, smiling happily as she looked from Remus to Tonks. Sirius was grinning like a fool, his eyebrows raised suggestively as he glanced between Tonks and himself. Minerva McGonagall was actually cracking a smile for once and her eyes twinkled almost as much as Dumbledore's. Snape looked surlier than ever as he glared at Tonks and then at Remus. Tonks herself was a light shade of red, her hair matching her face. Either she was angry, embarrassed or both. She refused to meet his eyes.

He felt his heart swell when she defended him, even though she wouldn't meet his eyes. He wondered why she seemed embarrassed and why everyone in the room that wasn't asleep - _that'd be Snape's speech getting to them,_ he thought - was looking back and forth between him and Tonks.

He tried to tell himself for the hundredth time that day alone, that he didn't like her more than just a friend. It was obvious she didn't feel that way about him so he would just have to let it go. Of course, letting his feelings go meant admitting he had them and he didn't: He absolutely _didn't_.

Tonks raised her eyes to meet his and he almost groaned out loud. Yes he did. He did have feelings for her and he found that he couldn't deny himself anymore. He liked Nymphadora Tonks. He replayed her name in his head: _Nymphadora Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks, Nympha-_

He was startled out of his thoughts by Sirius' loud laugh. Remus frowned at him, and then looked away battling with the same embarrassment that Tonks must be feeling as he realised he was still standing by the door, lost in thought with what was probably the most idiotic look ever seen on any mans face. He was probably over exaggerating a bit, but he didn't care. He was allowed to overexaggerate: he had just admitted to himself that he had feelings for Tonks. If that wasn't an excuse, he didn't know what was. _I'm really losing it._

Hastily he moved from the door to take the only empty seat at the table. It was right next to Tonks and he sighed. How was he meant to keep his feelings for her from her if he had to sit that close to her, so close that he could feel the heat radiating off her body…

He couldn't like her- no, he'd been through this and he knew he did. It was more that he shouldn't like her. She deserved more than the likes of him. He was much older, poor and a bloody werewolf. Some voice inside his head screamed that she wouldn't care, because some part of him knew that she didn't. Another voice, weaker, told him not to listen to the other voice because it was wrong to put her through that. _Oh God, he was hearing voices in his head. Was he going mad? Is this what she did to him? Reduced him to a nonsensical mess? The Quibbler could produce articles more sane than his thoughts right now._

The meeting had resumed. He dropped his head into his hands wearily. He was going mad, he knew it. He knew he should stay away from her but that voice in his head told him not to deny himself her. He mentally slapped himself as he realised where his thoughts were heading. _It doesn't matter_, he told himself, _because she doesn't like me anyway and she never could._

Next to him, Tonks saw him drop his head into his hands looking thoroughly stressed out. Was he in pain? She reached out to him and touched his arm lightly. The hot electricity that ran up her arm was startling. She felt her skin tingling where her hand had made contact with his arm, a warmth spreading through her entire body. She felt compelled to touch him again. _NO! _She shouted at herself, _Her self control had apparently disappeared along with her interest in Snape's report. _

"Are you ok?" she whispered, glad that the situation required a whisper because she couldn't quite find her voice to speak.

He jumped as her hand touched his arm. Shocking warmth radiated up his arm and through his body. Her light touch made him gasp lightly and her whisper made his throat close up as he struggled to speak. Her touch, no matter how small made him delirious. _Yes, he was going mad, losing his marbles. Some might go as far as to say he was only two sickles to the Galleon. This was utterly and completely insane._

He didn't trust himself to speak so he nodded at her, catching her eye for a moment and regretting it straight away. She was so beautiful and he needed no reminder of what he couldn't have. Her eyes- he couldn't describe them. They were unique and breathtaking, no matter how she morphed them to be. They were shockingly clear, perceptive and always filled with intense emotion and a cheerful spark akin to Dumbledore's. He sighed as he realised he was staring at her. _Apparently, he was getting more poetic and loony with each full moon._

He swallowed hard, resisting the urge to move ever-closer to her. He shifted in his seat, tempted to sit on his hands to stop himself from reaching out for her. He needed to leave - now - before he did something he'd regret. Somehow though, he couldn't bring himself to move. _Traitorous legs, not obeying his orders, he thought. Move, damn it! She made him fall to pieces - this was hopeless._

"Hem hem," Sirius cleared his throat in a rather pointed manner.

_Is Umbridge here? _Tonks thought, startled out of her thoughts about Remus, _The old toad. _Looking around however, she caught Sirius' smug smirk. She rolled her eyes; trust Sirius to get her attention that way. He grinned at her, looking from her to Remus. Blushing, Tonks realised that she had been staring at Remus. _Again._

Remus was startled by Sirius clearing his throat. Annoyed, he glared at him before noticing that he was alternating his glance between Tonks and himself. Trust Sirius to make fun of him like this. He wasn't _that _obvious was he? He chanced a look at Tonks who was staring fixedly at the tablecloth, her arm propped up to support her head, her hair falling between her and Sirius. _Was she blushing? And was she trying to hide from Sirius behind her hair. _It was times like this that found Remus wishing his hair was long enough to hide behind. _Perhaps that's why Snape wears his hair long. He must need to hide at times, the way people stare at him._

Suppressing a groan at the sight of her blush he looked anywhere but at her and Sirius. He managed to meet the eyes of everyone at the meeting that wasn't already asleep. McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him before looking to where Tonks sat. Dumbledore grinned at him and Remus feared that he knew more than he let on, as he also looked towards Tonks. Molly smiled encouragingly at him and looked as though she wanted to come over to speak to him. Arthur was falling asleep at her side and as Remus' gaze moved to him, Molly elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to sit up and splutter, "I'm awake, I swear!" Remus sniggered into the back of his hand and heard Tonks and Sirius do the same thing.

Snape stopped talking again. "Is _anyone _listening to me?" he snapped, his voice ice cold.

Sirius snorted in amusement, "Does anyone _ever_ listen to you?" he quipped.

Mundungus, slumped in the corner of the room, snored particularly loudly as if to emphasise the point.

Tonks clapped her hand to her mouth to attempt to stop the laughter that was threatening to escape. The sound of her laughter was enough to make Remus feel utterly elated. _Why did she affect him like that? Like he'd been hit with a cheering charm. A particularly strong one, probably cast by Hermione. No, scratch that, _he thought as he heard her laugh again, _like he'd been hit with a thousand particularly strong cheering charms._

Dumbledore cleared his throat, looking only slightly abashed, "Of course we are listening Severus," he said, his eyes twinkling, "with eager ears. Please do continue with your intriguing report."

Snape glared at Dumbledore as though he wanted to take the twinkle right out of his eyes. _No point in telling him that that's impossible, _Remus thought.

He hadn't realised that he'd mumbled the word 'impossible' under his breath until Tonks laughed and dug her elbow into his ribs gently. He looked sideways and smiled at her as he saw her grinning at him. She held his gaze before tearing her eyes away before it got too intense.

_Yes he, Remus John Lupin, sure had it bad._

**Ok, so some people are out of character and I will fix that. **

**Keep in mind that this was originally a one-shot and it was something I wrote for fun, hence the jokey-ness. I have a serious Lupin/Tonks story called ****The Greatest Love ****so this is like my lighthearted version - well, as lighthearted as it can be. I'll write this story for as long as you guys want, provided I get reviews on it. **

**Thanks everyone : )**

**Also, It's unedited so please don't hate me too much for my mistakes. I'm only a house-elf. Kidding, I'm only human : P Not sure Voldy could say the same.. Not that he'd admit he's made mistakes in the first place... ANYWHO : P **


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